


A PUZZLE OF THE HEART

by bubbLp0ppR



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 100 percent romantic fluff, at the same time i want to see how far i can go with this nonsense, i don't actually ship frisk and papyrus, not EXACTLY frisk/papyrus, pfffffft hahahaha, with none of the actual - well - romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2018-11-10 04:11:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11119644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubbLp0ppR/pseuds/bubbLp0ppR
Summary: What if Frisk was the second greatest puzzle endorser who ever lived? What if Frisk was perfect for Papyrus in every possible way and became accidentally infatuated with his greatness? Will they have the courage to confess? Will Papyrus ever reciprocate their undying love for him? How will this epic tale of unrequited romance, "high stakes" drama and an irregularly large amount of puzzle and spaghetti content unroll???All these questions... They must be what you are asking yourself right now. Continue if you dare, human!





	1. BY FAR THE WORST CHAPTER AS IT HAS THE LEAST PAPYRUS

It was cold when I first exited the ruins. I remember feeling as though my whole body had just been tossed into ice cold water when opened the door. Walking down that path, I had been shivering, huddled in my thin old jumper as I slowly followed the forest path…

— — —

 _Maybe I should have stayed after all_ I thought to myself. The ruins had at least been warmer than this place. It was regrettable that I had needed to leave Toriel, she had seemed like such a nice lady. But regardless of how cozy her house was, or how sweet her pies tasted it could never replace my real home on the surface.

I get homesick so easily, it’s surprising I managed to even stay a whole week there. Normally even a holiday leaves me begging to go back after a few days. But the _puzzles -_ oh! The puzzles had been too amazing for me to resist. Imagine my surprise when I fell into this hole, expecting empty caves and bats, to find an entire wonderland of contraptions and traps! Why, I barely had time to think about home with so many spiked devices and button operated doors pleading for my attention. On that first day when Toriel had left me alone, no amount of self control could have kept me in that room waiting for her with so much problem solving ahead. The next day, to her amusement, I had insisted that she tour me around the purple halls and explain each puzzle in detail. I would spend hours questioning her about the history of monster puzzle design against her well worn armchair. It wasn’t until the fifth night that I even remembered I should be trying to go back.

It had pained me to leave the ruins, but it had been necessary. I couldn’t stay trapped underground forever, that would be like leaving the greatest puzzle of my life unsolved. Toriel had resisted at first, but by being patient and showing a bit of mercy, it wasn’t too long before she let me continue on my way.

And so there I was. Out in the snowy cold.

A strange flash of light caught my attention. _Ah! Another save point!_ I approached it eagerly. This was the second I had encountered so far in this place. Why exactly I could load time, I didn’t really want to think about. But it had definitely come in handy around the other monsters. They all seemed to underestimate their strength around me, which had led to some… accidents. I didn’t really blame them for it - especially since the damage was so simply undone - but it was unpleasant when they forgot all the conversations I had with them. The warbled metallic ring echoed in my ears as I saved my progress. Hopefully I wouldn’t need to use it much. Toriel had warned me that monsters here would try to harm me and steal my soul, but surely after I explain my situation they’d understand and let me leave.

I continued on my way. As I moved I noticed the trees grew in neat lines that created dizzying patterns as I walked. Like tall pillars, the black bark towered high into the sky above me. I found the symmetry of the whole thing very amusing. It wasn’t long before I felt the presence of another person following me. Perhaps they were shy, so I tried to pretend they weren’t there. I reached a large sturdy branch on the path and paused to look at it. _Should I move it out of the way?_ I wondered. I knew some of the monsters here in the underground could be quite small, it would be rude not to clear the path for them. Unfortunately the thing was too heavy to drag away or break under my weight so I finally walked over it, resigned. They could probably walk around it anyway. A few moments later I heard a loud snap. Reactively, I turned to see the branch now shattered in piece behind me. Not such a small monster after all. I decided the game of hide and seek had gone on long enough.

“Hello?” I spoke calmly but loudly. “Whoever’s there, you don’t have to hide. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Silence.

“That’s okay. Sometimes I don’t like talking to people either.” I continue quietly, smiling. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for clearing that path for me. You must be very strong to be able to break that stick, I appreciate it. … Goodbye.” With that, I continued pacing through the forest, clasping my hands to warm them up in the chill. I started to hum a little tune in my head.

— — —

The monster was still following me. _Maybe we’re just going in the same direction_ I thought, happily ignoring it. Then I stopped. My mouth dropped.

Standing in front of me was the most well-crafted gate I had ever seen. The wood had been expertly carved with care… it had the ‘nuance style’ of uncut logs stacked haphazardly on top of each other. The pillars composing its barrier were imposing in the extreme, bulky and impregnable yet slender and elegant with their tree-like nature (which is to say they were literally tree trunks). The whole design screamed a passion for entrapment that I could barely hope to hope to comprehend. I had yet to meet it’s designer but needless to say, they were a master of unparalleled skill. I was paralysed, frozen in awe at the accomplishment, when someone walked up behind me.

“H u m a n.” I blinked and quickly turned around to greet the stranger. Were those _tears_ in my eyes? Never mind. It was impolite to not respond to people, even if they had interrupted what I felt was the best moment of my life. “Yes?” I replied politely as I spun, observingthe figure in front of me. They were a skeleton, dressed in a dirty but clearly well-loved blue hoodie. An unnaturally large smile covered most of their face, but their eyes seemed shrouded in some form of scepticism that ruined the expression. Their arm was extended like they expect me to know what comes next. This confused me at first, then my eyes lit up “Oh! You must be the one who broke that branch for me. Nice to finally meet yo-” I had reached for the hand and started to shake it, when a loud sound erupted from the bony fingers.

— — —

Abhorrence. It was the only word for how I felt. The stout skeleton had used a  _whoopee cushion_ of all things in our introduction. I twisted my face in disdain.They started laughing. I became deadpan, it would do no good to humour him.

“The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It’s _always_ funny.”

Any previous good opinion I ever had about this monster was forgotten in that moment. I was very tempted to slap my palm on my face or groan. Fortunately, I always believed first impressions were important and instead was able to be the better person in the situation. The only direction for this encounter to go was up after all. _At least he looks less suspicious of me now_ I examined hopefully. The white pricks in his eye sockets were lit in subtle relief and satisfaction.

'Sans the skeleton' then introduced himself to me and explained that he was a sentry on watch for humans. “But, uh… you know… I don’t really care about capturing anybody.” he admitted. I had the feeling he wasn’t too concerned about this fact. Ifrowned. Obviously, capturing humans was never a good thing to do (especially if that human might be me) but I couldn’t help but look down on his lack of work ethic anyway. He made some sort of comment about his brother, Papyrus, who apparently was a lot more committed to his job. I began to feel slightly concerned - if I was captured, how could I explain that I needed to go home? Sans led me through Papyrus’s gate and urged me to hide behind a conveniently shaped lamp. Learning the architect of such a project was after me I became even more frightened and did as he asked.

From my concealed spot, I heard the sound of assertive footprints in the snow. I was shaking - but not just from the cold. The taller skeleton then entered my view. I had to suck in a gasp. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The complete opposite of his brother, Papyrus was tall with a defined slenderness to his figure, dressed in bright red apparel over a chest plate that gleamed like all the stars of the sky compressed into one plate of metal. He literally shone in the snowy landscape with all that light reflecting off the silver plate and white bones. The strong bone face had a grin that spoke volumes of confidence so loud, it made me woozy. Noticing his brother, he boldly glided towards him, knee-high boots powering through the snow as though it were effortless. Coming to a stop just four strides from my hiding spot, small flecks of powder sprayed from the impact. Some hit my face, the only confirmation this vision was real.

"sup bro." Sans said like the god among mortals standing before us was nothing special.

— — —

The air around me was so deprived of heat it froze my saliva when i spoke. But for the first time since leaving the ruins,  I remember feeling entirely warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish i was better at writing u.u I'm actually getting excited about this now haha. 
> 
> You may notice a significant lack of papyrus and pasta which i sincerely apologise for. I assure this will be rectified in the next chapter. 
> 
> Also i know my language is far too articulate, i can't help it D': I was going for papyrus and ended up with... this instead. And i'm too lazy to re-write until it sounds right haha.


	2. A GASPING LAMP?!

I needed to resist this roguish skeleton. For all his charms, I was a human with standards. I couldn’t love someone I hadn’t even met… right?

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP’ BROTHER!” Dammit even his voice was music. Articulate and powerful, it had a quality that demanded respect. "IT HAS BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T… RE-CALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!"I couldn't help from gasping at the blasphemy. Could such a heinous crime even exist? Did he not realise the amount of precision required in operating an effectively functional caper? I knew he was lazy... but to not even show the fundamental care to one's puzzles! That sort of neglect was unforgivable! How brave and selfless of Papyrus to address the issue.

He paused the speech. “DID YOU... HEAR THAT LAMP GASP, SANS?" My heart froze. I managed to tear my eyes off Papyrus and gave Sans a pleading look. Not yet. I wasn't prepared to face him yet! Not with so little time to brace myself… The white pricks of Sans eyes flicked to mine for a second before turning back to his brother. “Uhh… last I checked bro, lamps don't gasp."

I breathed in relief, my whole body relaxing.

"IT JUST DID IT AGAIN SANS! THAT LAMP SIGHED, I'M CERTAIN OF IT." I slapped my hand over my mouth. _Idiot! I can't believe I gave myself away again…_ I needed to control myself better around him. He was so close to me, I was able to see the suspicion on his face as he gazed at the lamp.

“I thought you said the lamp gasped.” Sans replied. His smile was stretching again.

“YES. WELL, FIRST IT GASPED AND NOW IT SIGHED.”

He tilted his head. “But lamps don’t gasp bro, so it can’t have sighed after gasping.”

This logic stunned Papyrus and he gave the lamp another quick glare before replying.

“THAT… THAT IS A VERY GOOD POINT BROTHER.”

That seemed to put the issue to rest, but Sans couldn’t help himself from adding with a wink, “Glad I could help you to **gasp** the **sigh** tutation bro.”

“SANS!!!” Papyrus and I both groaned. _Wait, did I say that out loud?_

Oh no! I’d done it again, hadn’t I? My face was still red from the last time but I blushed even fiercer knowing that Papyrus must soon realise I was there. How could I ever hope to face someone as great as him?

“SEE? EVEN THE LAMP CAN’T STAND YOUR TERRIBLE PUNS! NYE HEH HEH!”

I’m not sure which made me happier, knowing I was safe or being able to hear that adorable laugh escaping his jaw. The two then moved on from my hiding place and Papyrus continued scolding Sans laziness, reminding him that he was busy trying to become a member of something called the ‘Royal Guard’.

“ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!”

Boondoggle. Just thinking the word in my head made me want to giggle.His language never ceased to fascinate me. Truly Papyrus was a poet as well as gate-building genius. In response, Sans made another pun which I had to flinch my way through. The jokes were actually very clever and funny, but at the same time hearing them made me want to press pillows against my ears. Clearly Papyrus felt the same way. He couldn’t help himself from smiling but still reprimanded the terrible pun.

“SIGH… WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME…” And there was no questioning that this monster standing before was most certainly great. “HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…”

My heart broke in two. It was the most tragic thing I had ever heard. Hearing the humble cries of this poor skeleton for attention, how could I not want to support him in this goals? Part of me was tempted to step out right that moment and surrender myself to him.

Before I even had the chance though, Sans made another awful pun and Papyrus remembered he had puzzles to attend to. Turning around, he looked over his shoulder at his brother. “AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, “BACKBONE” INTO IT!!!! NYE HEH HEH HEH!!!” If he hadn’t been laughing so hard he would have heard the uncontrollable snorts coming from behind the blue lamp. Forget Sans’s puns, _that_ was how you made a joke. He disappeared into the trees of the forest.

— — —

“Ok, you can come out now.” Sans called to me.

I didn’t want to move. I was still processing the encounter. How was I supposed to compete with that? How was I supposed to evade capture from someone as capable as Papyrus?I was struggling to resist even his basic charms let alone his obvious intellect. Clearly it was impossible, so what was even the point?

I sat there in the snow for a long time. Maybe being captured wouldn’t be so bad. Especially if it was by the Great Papyrus…

But at the same time, I couldn’t give up so easily! It would be unsportsmanlike to not even try to solve this difficult puzzle facing me. This was certainly the hardest riddle I had ever encountered, but there must be a way for me to conquer it!

With this, I stood up, determined to continue. Sans had fallen asleep waiting for me to respond, still standing upright. Honestly, how that lazy sack of bones is related to Papyrus is a mystery that leaves me befuddled to this day.

_Onward!_ I told myself as I started walking along the path.

“Actually, hey…”

Sans yawned the words, having just woken up.

“Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favour? I was thinking… my brother’s been kind of down lately… he’s never seen a human before. And seeing you might just make his day.”

I stopped. Papyrus had been feeling… down? The image of the skeleton’s usual grin replaced with a frown made me shudder. I guess I could show myself to him once or twice.

“Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous. Even if he tries to be.”

Sans must have thought I was scared. The lies about his capabilities were supposed to calm me down. It didn’t matter though, I wasn’t worried. If it meant keeping Papyrus smiling, I would do it regardless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know where I'm going with this story now!!! I made a plan yesterday, it's all mapped out :D. It looks like 11 chapters at this point but that's just a rough estimate.
> 
> I have like all final chapters written but i need to catch up and write the ones before that lol.
> 
> ...Really i should be focussing on my other serious fic, but i've had a crap couple of days and Papyrus worship is generally a lot funner to write than a genocidal maniac dying over and over again (i mean, that's pretty fun too >:) ...but in a different way) Depending on how things go, i might have this whole thing done and out in one or two weeks!! If more crap ensues, i don't really want to commit to that time frame though, so yeah.
> 
> And i know... there still isn't enough pasta. (gasp!) Don't worry, i have an entire chapter devoted to it coming up ;)


	3. THE FIRST PUZZLES APPROACH!!!

Past a wave of trees, I again saw the two bothers. They were talking about some person named Undyne when Papyrus turned. And he _looked at me_!!!

He glanced at Sans. Then back at me. Sans. Me. Sans. Me. His brother was also turning around, but not in sync with Papyrus. The two whirred in circles of motion, swapping between each other and me until it became too dizzying to watch. Finally stopped and turned around to confer with each other. I couldn’t hear their conversation but they seemed to be discussing a rock behind me.

Papyrus turned to face me. He was looking at me! Omigosh omigosh omigosh!!! His eyes were hypnotising, beautiful slits in his polished white face. Currently they were shining with excitement. His whole posture shouted pride. Papyrus was looking at me… Papyrus was LOOKING AT ME!

“OH MY GOD!!! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I’M GONNA… I’LL BE SO… POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!”

He was enraptured in his achievement. I didn’t dare interrupt him, he looked so adorable when he was happy. Eventually he calmed down, re-adjusting the gorgeous crimson scarf around his neck.

“…AHEM! HUMAN!”

He called me human!! Only a minute into our acquaintance and we already had nicknames!!! The way he said the word gave me spring in my step. _HUMAN_. Ahhhh, so wonderful!

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!!”

The _Great_ Papyrus… The name suited him so well. He made promises to capture me before retreating to prepare his dastardly designs. Sans stuck around afterwards to thank me for entertaining his brother and told me he’d keep an eye socket out for me. It was kind of him to say but we both knew he was too lazy to actually help me with anything.

— — —

Further down the cleared path, a small square building caught my attention. Even from this distance I could recognise the workmanship. _The unrivalled architectural skills of the Great Papyrus strikes again!_ I walked up to it. It was the humble cardboard box, but reimagined into something spectacular. Edges of the smooth brown structure had been delicately frayed with age. I stroked them gently, picturing Papyrus doing the same. The sizing of the box was deliberate yet modest, the perfect balance between pleasure and economy. There was a faint smell of something coming off it… tomato sauce? In the station was a note:

“YOU OBSERVE THE WELL-CRAFTED SENTRY STATION. WHO COULD HAVE BUILT THIS, YOU PONDER… I BET IT WAS THAT VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN! (NOTE: NOT YET A VERY FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN.)”

Oh Papyrus, your confidence was so inspiring. I take a step back to admire the post in all its glory. If this was what a royal guardsman was capable of, then I could see the allure.

— — —

Reaching a room covered in ice I had to pause. I knew I didn’t have good balance and that taking one step would send me flying off across the slippery surface with no control over where I went. This room would require some strategy. Indeed, traversing this ice could very well be considered… a puzzle! The fact made my day.

Sans was standing nearby and decided to give me some important advice about his brother’s attacks. He was actually being… useful for once???

“My brother has a very special attack. If you see a blue attack, don’t move and it won’t hurt you. Here’s an easy way to keep it in mind.”

I listened intently.

“Imagine a stop sign. When you see a stop sign, you stop. Right? Stop signs are red. So imagine a blue stop sign instead. Simple right? When fighting, think about blue stop signs.”

The explanation was hard to follow but I got the general idea of it. Blue stop signs… Hmmm. I made a note to try and remember this.

— — —

I eventually reached Papyrus’s first challenge. Puzzles! This perfect skeleton had prepared real _puzzles_!!!!! And not _just_ puzzles either - no, the Great Papyrus was never one to present flimsy second-rate obstacles - this was a quality conundrum!

Before me was a seemingly empty space, but Papyrus had just sneakily revealed to me that in fact the entire floor had been manipulated into an electric maze, that would zap anyone who so much as stepped out of line with the pathway out. It was so thorough! So meticulously planned! And the stakes were set to the perfect proportion of pain and consequence. My first instinct was to spend an hour just marvelling over the spectacle and learning every detail about it’s design… But I couldn’t.

What would Papyrus think of me? I had enough experience from the surface to know that puzzles weren’t as popular to others as they were to me. Would he listen to me go on and on about it and find me strange? I couldn’t bear the thought. No. It was much better if I just kept my mouth shut.

I awkwardly pointed at the orb he was holding so I could begin the maze without harming him. Even now, I still was too intimidated to speak to him directly. At least Sans was here, the thought of us being alone was more than my poor stature could handle. He blinked for a few seconds and then realised that I would have to hold the orb. “OF COURSE! THE ORB! THE ORB THAT I HAD DEFINITELY REMEMBERED YOU WOULD NEED… THE GREAT PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER FORGET SOMETHING OF THAT SIGNIFICANCE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN HUMAN, BUT IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT NECESSARY. NYEH HEH HEH!” He laughed to himself and began walking through the maze to give me the orb.

I was stunned. He had even memorised the path himself? The dedication! The commitment! Within moments he was standing directly in front of me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t _breathe_. It was the closest I had ever been to him. I could see the gentle rise and fall of his bones as his outstretched arm placed the small ball on my head. I closed my eyes and stayed perfectly still out of fear he would touch me by accident. When I opened them again, his face was right in front of me and I flinched in surprise. “HOLD THIS PLEASE!” He smiled, moving away. I nodded, careful to balance the orb on the flat of my head. He then rapidly retreated back through the maze with the same ease as before. I didn’t try and analyse his movement patterns obviously. That would be bad sportsmanship.

Looking around me I realised in despair that his selfless efforts to give me the orb had inadvertently sabotaged his maze. Footprints had been left in the snowy from the forceful strut his solid figure. There was only one solution to this. I closed my eyes before walking towards the maze, my puzzling instincts kicking in. Surely it would be possible to complete blind! With Papyrus with me, I could do anything!

— — —

It had taken me ten full minutes to solve the maze, during which I was shocked twenty five times. But by golly, it had been worth it. With each zap, I had only grown even stronger in my affection for the trap. Papyrus happily praised me when I had solved it, while simultaneously reminding me that the worst was yet to come.

“THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM!”

Something that could confound _Papyrus_??? (Was that even possible?) It must be a difficult puzzle indeed. But difficult also meant one very important thing - more caper brilliance for me to enjoy! I wondered what it could be… Thinking about it filled me with determination as I moved forward.

— — —

Many friendly encounters with the local monsters (and strangely… dogs?) later, I encountered my next task. Sans and Papyrus were, again, waiting on the other side of the clearing.Between us was a single piece of paper. I stood there expectantly. Maybe the puzzle was still coming, or was invisible like the last one?

“HUMAN!!! I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR… SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!!”

Even Papyrus didn’t know what was going on. The anticipation was killing me.

“It’s right there. On the ground.” Sans replied casually.

The piece of paper? Did it conceal some elaborate challenge beneath it??

“Trust me. There’s no way they can get past this one.” He winks at me.

Now I was curious. I slowly approached the paper. Using the handy stick I had found in the ruins, I tossed the paper away to check underneath it. Nothing. Was this some sort of trick? Now confident the paper wasn’t dangerous, I picked it up and inspected it. Ah! There it was, the puzzle… It was a word search.

I look up again at Sans in disbelief. He gave me a small grin, pointing with finger guns. Uggghhh. That idiot. He couldn’t even conduct a proper puzzle scenario. What a lazybones! Not one to be deterred however, I began applying myself to the word search before me. A puzzle is a puzzle after all, no matter how simple it may appear! The words were easy enough to locate, but when I moved to solve the literary challenge before me, I quickly realised I didn’t have a pen. I patted up and down myself, searching my inventory for anything I could use to solve the problem. But to no avail.

No! How could this be? An - unsolvable puzzle?! Perhaps that sneaky skeleton had some merit after all. I looked to the Great Papyrus, surely he’d have the solution to this. His dashing self appeared deep in thought, stroking his bony chin. Truly Papyrus had been sincere in his assessment of Sans’ puzzle. Confounding indeed! There must be a solution to this. I had been the greatest puzzle solver of my hometown. Reputably the best puzzler (according to the humble opinion of me) the surface world had ever seen! I assessed my options. For five painstakingly long minutes I stared at the thin paper in silence. And then it came to me. Ohhhh, Sans thought he had me beaten. All the odds seemed against me. But he hadn’t predicted one very crucial thing… I held the piece of paper proudly with two hands. Looking right into Sans eyes, I pulled my two hands away from each other and tore into the paper with a loud _rrrrip_. Ha! Carefully, I tore out each word from the grid, leaving those words that crossed together connected in a paper X. The two stared in shock. My masterstroke made quick work of the paradox.

Finishing my work, I threw the leftover scraps to the ground with extreme prejudice. I held a satisfied grin on my face as I presented the solution to Sans, who still seemed stunned at the turn of events. There was this confused look on his face, as if he’d expected me to attempt to just give up on the puzzle. The mere idea of it offended me. Quit? A puzzle? Never! I was still to shy to look at Papyrus. Surely my feat was nothing in comparison to the greatness of his actions.

“SANS!!! YOU FAILED TO EVEN SUPPLY THE HUMAN WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS TO SOLVE YOUR PUZZLE!”

Integrity. This concept of justice could only be found within the greatest conoissuers of puzzle kind. Was it really a surprise at this point that Papyrus fell into this category of honour?

“whoops. I knew I should have used today’s crossword instead.”

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? HUMAN, I’M SORRY YOU, WHO TRIED SO HARD AT THEIR PUZZLE, HAD TO HEAR THAT. NYEHEHEH!”

He strutted away, probably to prepare more challenges of immense proportions to stop me. That last thing he said. Was it… a genuine compliment!? He was proud of me. Ohhhhh my! He was PROUD of ME! My breathing became quick. Now that he was gone, I could finally stop looking down. I gazed longingly at the space he used to fill, yearning to be in his presence once again. One day… one day I will be worthy to look at his greatness without fear. But that day most definitely wasn’t today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!! Sorry for the delay with the chapter. But it's pretty long, so there's that :D I'm uploading a second chapter rn too, be excited guys... pasta is here! At the same time i worked more on those final chapters, so one of these days you'll get like the entire dump of the finale in one fowl swoop lol.
> 
> Also: damn, i used the word puzzle 22 times in that chapter. To put that in perspective, the last two only had 9 between them! And it's not like i haven't tried to be creative, trust me. There's only so many words for puzzle one can think of.


	4. AN ENTIRE CHAPTER IN HONOUR OF SPAGHETTI

 

I smelt it before I could even see it. It was like nothing my nose had ever experienced. Tangy, sweet, spicy, saucy. The aromas sent hundreds of messages at once that all communicated once simple expression. Perfection. The smell didn’t make me hungry, it made me a starving child who had never before tasted the sweet relief of food on their tongue. My legs were not my own. No longer paying attention to the path, it was my nostrils that guided my every action. Whatever was smelling this way, I could physically not resist its pull.

In the distance I began to see a table. The source of this sensory delight?! My pace quickened. Slow steps became a steady walk… which became a swift power walk… which I finally gave up with, replacing with the full-bent sprint of a maniac who didn’t care what they looked like. The smell compelled me. Whatever existed on that plate… it wasn’t a matter of desire. It was something I needed in order to survive.

Anything in my path was obliterated by the force of my movement. Snow, bushes - even monsters, who I would normally take the moment to politely greet, were fled from in priority to this smell from heaven itself. Reaching the low-laying bench, I slipped in astonishment as the overload of input became even stronger. Because of how fast I was moving, the reaction left me flying a full 360 degrees in the air and crashing just inches away from the board.

I didn’t even feel the pain of my bruises, the scent had overridden my entire body at this point. Scrambling, I moved to worship the source of this brilliance. What picture entered my vision could not be described by mere words. It rested on a generous flat plate, overflowing from the dish with it’s mere magnitude. Do I even dare to begin to explain it-? To grossly undervalue the unnaturally perfect ball of perfectness I beheld in that perfect moment, it was spaghetti.

I slammed my head against the pointed corner of the wood scrambling to reach for it. This didn’t matter. The pain was worth it. For as much as the rest of my face missed the thing, my tongue had managed to make contact.

Ohhh. Ohhhhh. Ohhhhhhhh! OHHHHHH!!!!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! My tastebuds had ceased to function from euphoria. Wet, puffy, soft, delicious, tantalising, tearjerking, delectable, exquisite, luscious, heavenly, piquant, rich, savoury, ambrosial, mouthwatering, nectarous, titillating, scrumptious, delightful, pleasurable, glorious, enticing, tempting, enchanting, alluring, rapturous, refreshing, delightful, enjoyable, hallowed, wonderful, stunning, lovely, sensual, tasty, yummy, saporous, ethereal, light, refined, thrilling, esculent, amazing, brilliant, fantastic, spectacular, unique, incredible, marvellous, awesome, breathtaking, stupendous, stupefying, exceptional, outstanding, terrific, phenomenal, astounding, fabulous, mind blowing, magical… … …

 _[_ _more words were included in this list. For the sake of readers, the entire collection of compliments known to not only English but all languages of the world, containing every positive descriptor known to man, was omitted from this account (much to the distaste of Frisk, who claimed “anything less is a lie and you know it”. Nevertheless, I’m not sure the internet is ready for that…)_ _]_

And yet, the one word that stood out as odd in the collection of glory was ‘cold’.

— — —

By the time I’d snapped out of the awe-induced daze, my whole face was pressed against the beautiful thing. I quickly realised that it was frozen.

There was a note on the table, I moved to reach out and grab it and realised that my warm face was glued to the spaghetti, which was frozen stuck to the table. I tried to reach out with my arms, flailing them hopelessly to collect the slip. Finally with some coaxing that included turning the entire table on its side, I reached the letter.

“HUMAN!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI.” Written below it in smaller writing, Papyrus had included an extra comment. “(LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP… DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU! YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT… THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE THAT YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING!!)” I let out a gasp, muffled by the piles of spaghetti stuck to my lips. Indeed, as per Papyrus’ genius, I had completely forgotten the reason for my being here. “THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!"

"NYEH. HEH. HEH.  
PAPYRUS”

He had finally done it. I was undeniably defeated. Stuck to a table trapped on the ground, lying in a pile of snow with frosted drool surrounding my mouth: I was a pathetic sight. Even in my darkest hour though, I could not regret my journey to this point. I wouldn’t trade the taste I experienced for the world. Surrendering to the trap, I collapsed where I sat.

— — —

“Wha-?” The lazy clipped accent of Sans woke me from my slumber. I hadn’t even remembered falling asleep. It didn’t really matter much anyway. I opened my eyes to see the smaller brother standing over me. He started laughing, softly at first and then hysterically. “Pap’s trap… actually worked?” He was heaving with giggles. I gave him a dirty glare. _Ha ha. Very funny. Just get me out of here._ He continued laughing for a little longer before wiping the tears from his eyes and kneeling down to inspect me. “I’m gonna need to get a hairdryer or something, _stick_ in there.” He chuckled to himself. I couldn’t even move my face to frown at him.Hearing his footsteps moving away from me, I closed my eyes again. Strangely the sound of shoes crushing snow stopped a few metres away from me. Whatever, I must have been hearing things.

— — —

A surprisingly short time later, Sans was back melting the spaghetti. But it didn’t seem to be working. He grunted in annoyance. “Looks like I’ll have’ta… destroy it. Close your eyes and stay very still, ok?” I did as he asked. He hesitated for a second. Then, confident I wasn’t watching, a small whir of sound popped behind me and I felt magic crackle in the air. A sharp breeze flew past my face and I flinched. “You…. You can open your eyes now.” I blinked at the small black patch where the pasta used to exist. He… he… There was no spaghetti left!!! I moaned in disappointment.

“Now how will I be able to share it with Papyrus!”

He stared at me with this funny look on his face, then shrugged and started walking away. “By the way, my bro’s waitin on ahead. He’s kinda disappointed you haven’t shown up yet.” He glanced back to give me another signature wink. “If I were you, I’d try to get there quickly. Don’t want my cool brother getting upset, right?”

I blinked for a second. Then I rushed forwards to catch up with Sans. I couldn’t keep the Great Papyrus waiting!!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There ya go. Hopefully that makes up for the first 3 chapters of pasta absence... Really though, what was i thinking? A Papyrus fic without pasta? Unacceptable! 
> 
> Whhaaaaaatt? I toooottalllly didn't use a thesaurus for that description part. Definitely not... (...ok, maybe a little (...ok maybe a lot (...ok maybe i came up with three words and just uploaded every possible synonym that turned up for them (maybe...)))) ;)
> 
> And what's that you say about using the whole 'i omitted the description for your benefit' gag lazy? Me? Lazy? Pfftt get off the idea (;D)
> 
> So pumped i got out the Spagh chapter though. I'd been picturing it in my head since day one. I mean, an opportunity for Pap's trap to actually work? How could i pass that up??


	5. TIME ALONE WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS?!!!

 

 _Oh dear._ When I skidded around the bend to face the next puzzle I realised that the Great Papyrus stood _alone_ to face me.

Of course Sans had found an excuse to escape participating in the ongoing competition between us. Why had I ever expected anything different? And now I was face to face with both my worst fear and most heartfelt dream. Time alone with _Papyrus_.

My whole face turned red and I turned to face the ground. There were two tiny pebbles in the snow that I paid very deliberate attention to.

_Play it cool. Play it cool. Play it cool! It’s just Papyrus. It’s just a friendly conversation with Papyrus… a friendly… one-on-one encounter… face to face… with the most perfect man I’ve ever met! Oh who am I kidding?! What do I do? What do I say? I can’t think!! I can’t do this! Sans! Why have you abandoned me Sans??!_

His already enormous grin stretched even further at the sight of me. I blushed even harder. He covered up his relief with surprise to appear more sophisticated. Exclaiming with suitable shock, he declared “WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?” I began fidgeting furiously with my over-stretched sleeves. At least Sans hadn’t told him about my failure. Conspiratorially, he moved in a step closer ( _You can do this!! He’s just moving closer… No big deal!? F-focus on the pebbles! They’re v-very… umm… rocky._ ) “AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY…” He probably already knew everything. I was about to face the full consequences of my cowardice, I just knew it.

“IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???”

What was I supposed to say? I recalled the ugly black spot, so starkly different to the silky white snow it stained. The spaghetti no longer existed. I’d destroyed it all. My selfishness in partaking of the perfection without a thought for it’s masterful creator had ruined it! And now there was nothing to show him. I couldn’t even provide him the compliment of assuring him I had at least eaten it all! I couldn’t say I ate it… I couldn’t say I left it… I couldn’t say anything!

Papyrus continued to wait for my response. The impasse between us lasted minutes. He was so polite, awaiting my answer with the utmost of patience. Of course, he could not realise that I would never be able to provide it. The small pebbles still sat there in the snow, motionless towards the events. How I wished I could be a pebble. My life would be so much simpler if I was.

The silence only became worse… It was killing me. Papyrus was expecting an answer! The pressure was so intense! I started to shake. Papyrus let out a noise of concern. Long bony fingers wrapped around my shoulder. “HUMAN! ARE YOU… CONSCIOUS???” I flinched at the touch, backing away and letting out a squeal. He’d touched my shoulder!!! Those skeletal fingers… they had felt so comforting on my tiny back. In moving away, I had accidentally looked up at him. Big mistake. BIG MISTAKE! I became lost in his eyes again. So black… with those adorable little lights centred in them too- _No! Focus!_

Concern filled his expression and he pulled back his arm in disappointment. “I… I SEE, HUMAN. I AM SORRY FOR TOUCHING YOU. IT WASN'T MY INTENTION TO SCARE YOU.” _Oh no… No no no no! Papyrus!_ He thought I was scared of him! I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Open. Close. Open. Close. I wanted to not exist. Papyrus looked ashamed of himself! _Him_! He sighed with the sigh of someone who believed that truly their company did not care about them. This was the worst thing that could ever happen in the history of the world. I hated it, hated it,  _hated_ it. This was too much. A world where Papyrus was cautious towards me was not one worth living in. I wanted this to have never happened. I closed my eyes. There was only one answer. I knew what I must do. Everything started going black…

— — —

QUITTING…

CONTINUE?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More delays. I really should stop making promises i can't keep. So sorry
> 
> But hey, we're getting some development finally! Frisk can't keep avoiding Papyrus forever. Atleast, not without paying some prices =) 
> 
> Heh, in the game there's literally a no-exit choice between *Ate it and *Left it after Papyrus asks. That's why i made them stand there awkwardly lol (i'm such a nerd).
> 
> And we get a preview of how Frisk quitting works! ...I wonder if that's going to be important? (...But why would i want to write the whole journey again? Far too lazy for that ;D)


	6. SPAGHETTI REGRETTI REDEMPTION (...WHY ISN'T THIS CALLED CHAPTER 1?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SERIOUSLY THOUGH... THE HUMAN ONLY EXITED THE RUINS 4 PARAGRAPHS AGO. WHY IS EVERYONE CALLING THIS CHAPTER 6???  
> ...  
> WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS ISN'T THE FIRST TIME THEY'VE DONE THIS? I'VE NEVER MET THEM BEFORE IN MY LIFE YET, THANK YOU. YOU MUST BE CONFUSING THIS WITH SOME OTHER STORY.
> 
> *AHEM* READER, YOU SEEM TO HAVE FOUND THE WRONG STORY. IF YOU WERE EXPECTING CHAPTER 6, PLEASE RETURN TO READING THAT LESSER STORY. OBVIOUSLY WHATEVER THAT WAS WON'T BE AS GREAT AS THIS STORY THOUGH.
> 
> SO... MAYBE JUST KEEP READING THIS ONE THEN... NYEH HEH HEH!

I was back at my save point, standing upright near the ruins entrance. _Deep breaths_ I whispered to myself. I was still recovering from the horrific experience. My body was trembling. I needed to conquer this. I mean, it was getting ridiculous! As much as I was flabbergasted when facing Papyrus, making him feel that way towards me… it was infinitely worse.

Avoiding him was simply selfish, I realised. Regardless of how I felt, Papyrus deserved more respect than that! I found as I considered the scenario again, I became a lot more comfortable with the idea of facing him. His greatness could certainly be borne if it meant protecting him from such toxic thoughts as my disliking him. Yes! I became determined to the concept. Why shouldn’t I allow myself to look him in the eye? Conversation without eye contact was the epitome of rudeness! I was determined to bring this new goal to reality.

Wading through the thick snow to get back to the path, I sighed. I knew how this worked. Everything I’d done, everyone I’d met - all of it would be set back to zero. And after i’d made so many friends here too! I had a lot of work ahead of me.

— — —

Again reaching Papyrus’ magnificent gate of architectural grandeur, I found myself lingering on its intimidating presence once more. Familiar footsteps sounded behind me. Sans. I’d almost forgotten it was time to meet him again. “H u m a n” he bellowed in a voice deeper than that of even his usual baritone. I turned around, preparing to politely introduce myself once again. “Yes?” He stood there in the same silly blue jacket wearing the same goofy grin. His eyes though. The same suspicion from last time still shined through in them. His left arm was once again extended towards me, waiting for me to shake it.

I paused for a moment. Did I really have to go through the whoopee cushion ordeal again? The idea made me cringe inside. Fortunately, I developed a clever solution to the predicament. Extending my _right_ hand, I smiled and watched him awkwardly swap hands to shake it. “Hello! My name is Frisk. Nice to meet yo-.”

_Pffffffrrrrrrrrttttt_

What?! Looking into his hands I saw two whoopee cushions, one attached to the centre of each of his bony palms. My face scrunched up in disgust. Was there no escape from this skeleton’s tomfoolery! A deep chuckle emerged from his chest. “The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It’s _always_ funny.” I would disagree with that statement. He continued with his introductions like normal but I noticed the small glows in his eyes still fostered a faint scepticism. Maybe he had something against right-handed people.

— — —

I saw no need to adjust my behaviour for most of the journey I had previously completed. In those moments where I was graced to be in Papyrus’ presence, I made a silent commitment to always look at the beautiful creature rather than the floor. My efforts seemed to fill him with even more enthusiasm when presenting his monologues. It filled me with muted delight to see his smile each time.

When I reached Doggo’s station though, noticing the burnt butts of dog treats on the ground gave me another devious idea. Like last time, I stood motionless during his attacks. I couldn’t help but giggle at the absolute mayhem that ensued when I patted his head. After the sufficient three pets, he insisted that he’d had enough. Now was my chance… waving my arm so that he could see me, I asked using my utmost earnest pleases to borrow his lighter.

Doggo raised a furry eyebrow at me. After I had described the situation, he had forgiven the petting and was actually quite pleasant company. “Aren’t you a little young to be smoking dog treats, kid?” I shook my head furiously, explaining that I was only going to use it to heat something else up. He shrugged and gave me the small metal object. I stashed it in my pocket excitedly. Everything was working according to plan…

— — —

The smell greeted me like an old friend. _Mmmmmm_. Even prepared for its effects, the mere whiff of it drove me crazy with desire. My eyes widened to a frenzy and a light skip entered my step as I treaded closer. I had been waiting my entire journey to face this treat once again. My mouth trembled in anticipation. But this time I was prepared. Fool me once Papyrus, and I can forgive your genius. But fool me twice… a puzzle enthusiast could never allow it!

The frost coating the heavenly dish sparkled in the underground light. I must resist. _I must resist!_ I was trembling to try and hold myself back. My whole body leaned towards the plate, like it was the centre of the universe. I pulled out the lighter. Almost there… I was so close to being able to taste it. Lighting the small flame, I presented the ball of fire to the spaghetti as an offering.

Small drops of water slid their way down the beautiful curves of its noodles. It was working! I pressed the tool closer to Papyrus’ masterpiece and began painstakingly restoring it to it’s original glory.

The smell became even stronger. My knees went weak at the aroma. I wanted it so badly. With every fibre of my being I wanted to mash my face into the dish and devour it - frozen chunks and all. My mouth still remembered the taste… knowing what I was missing out on tortured me inside with the fire of a thousand suns. The only thing stopping me from collapsing at that moment was the thought of sharing this feast of sensatious delight with the Great Papyrus, grand orchestrator of it’s creation.

— — —

The process lasted over an hour. But time had no meaning when it came to pasta of this calibre. Only when I was one hundred percent confident that the spaghetti had achieved sufficient heating did I take the plate in my hands and proceeded on my way.

Guiltily, I selected the smallest noodle from the meal and placed it in my mouth as I made my way to Papyrus. I was not worthy. However it had gotten to the point where if I had not, my legs would have ceased to function entirely from want of the plate’s content. Surely Papyrus, in his boundless kindness, would understand.

The flavour filled me with more energy than I ever believed possible. For the temporary moments the wet thing lasted in my mouth, my HP rose to triple it’s original value and my SPEED stat raised by 50. Man that pasta packed a punch! Empowered by Papyrus’ gift, I raced towards his puzzle.

I was so excited, I accidentally bumped into Papyrus trying to find him. The sturdy metal of his chest plate bounced my weak figure off him harmlessly. I squeaked in shock. But, thank goodness, the spaghetti was still intact. He looked down at me in surprise and relief. “HUMAN! YOU CAME! (I WAS GETTING CONCERNED…)” He blinked and came to himself. “UH, I MEAN… WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?”

I refused to let myself be flustered. Lifting my head, I looked up at the handsome soon-to-be-guardsman. His natural toothy grin drew in my focus and I had to fight to keep my eyes concentrated on his face. Slyly, he leaned closer towards me and said with a wink:

“AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY… IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?”

Proudly, I presented his trap that I had hidden behind my back. He looked on the yellow and red with a look of sympathy. “WOWIE… YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOUR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA… JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME???” I nodded my head fervently, blushing that he saw through my ploy so easily.

He flicked his scarf and turned his head dramatically. “FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS… WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!” He pressed the plate back into my hands, rejecting the gift, and dashed to his next station.

_Papyrus… For you, I shall eat every speck!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry this IS the actual story! Haha. I added the question to the title and was worried people wouldn't get the joke. Which is why i added the note to drum it in. Sorry if it just made it more confusing.... yeah. Maybe it's not the best gag. But i'm rolling with it!!!
> 
> I think i maybe could've elaborated more on Frisk's progression towards feeling comfortable with Papyrus. But i'm not a very good writer so i don't think i can do the monologue justice v.v Besides! I have a story to continue with. Can't just eat up time trying to write something i don't know how to.


	7. THE UN-BREAKING BOND OF PUZZLEPALZ (THE Z MAKES IT COOLER!!!)

“HUMAN!” I had returned to face his newest puzzle. He fidgeted with his hands and looked down for a second. Highly un-Papyrus behaviour. “HMMM… HOW DO I SAY THIS… YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO… I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE… BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE.”

A reasonable pursuit. The world of puzzling was always improving at a rapid pace. To assume a puzzle would stay current would be to doom it to become obsolete. And Papyrus’ face… well, no image could serve better as one’s muse.

“UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT!”

Ah! I now understood the dilemma. This was troubling indeed.

“AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS…”

He paused and looked at the puzzle with humiliation. His sentence trailed into nothingness and we both looked awkwardly at the caper.

Brushing away the thoughts, he swung back to face me. With full gusto he responded,“WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED!

There were of course exits that could have allowed Papyrus to move around the puzzle. But he, like me, found it impossible to pass by a jape such as this without solving it properly. Entering a space of deep contemplation, we both stared intently at the problem before us.

A grin emerged on his already-smiling face. “EUREKA!!!” He had solved it. Looking at my immense concentration, he nodded in respect and withheld from solving it right then and there.

“FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I’LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!!”

I looked at him with gratitude. A puzzler who could not solve puzzles presented to them hardly deserved the title at all. I glared at the labyrinth of snow and Xs until my eyes watered. Aha! Finally determining the solution, I stepped forward to solve the puzzle. But a small sound from behind me made me hesitate. Glancing back, I saw Papyrus standing in quiet conflict. He looked… jealous.

Why didn’t I see it before?! He was sacrificing his opportunity to execute his rightful solution to the problem! For me! This would not do. Turning around, i reluctantly faced Papyrus once more. A shy happy glow entered his eyes. “SO, YOU WANT A HINT, HUH?” With a small nod i hesitantly agreed. Jumping from his stance, he gestures for me to turn and rests a ruggedly handsome arm against my shoulder. Using his free hand, he indicates the array of pressure plates. “I’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE… AND I THINK THE SOLUTION… IS TO TURN ALL THE X’S INTO O’S!”

Look how far i had come! Not five hours ago, this mere proximity to Papyrus would have made me faint from overexposure to greatness. His hint, when scaled on a spectrum of the helpfulness of hints, was irrefutably perfect. Not too obvious as to provide the answer and yet not too vague as to leave the listener confused. And put so simply! In one sentence, the entire purpose of the contraption was laid bare to me. Even a novice would be able to appreciate the foresight of the input. The path I had to take was now clearer than ever. But it still wasn’t enough.

Now that Papyrus had assisted me, it felt almost impolite to not allow him to participate in the final piece of the puzzle. Grabbing his gloved hand in mine, I dragged that devilish charmer into the fray. With mixed alarm and pride at my confidence, he happily followed. With complete certainty, I firmly placed my foot on the first blue X and offered for Papyrus to complete the activation with his own. He shifted his head to face me. “ARE YOU SURE THIS IS THE BUTTON YOU WISH TO PRESS?” Papyrus questions, shifting his eyes with a glint of mischief. He could try to fool me all he wanted, his hint had opened my eyes to the secrets of the universe. I was ready. Nodding with the force of a raging river, he complied with my unspoken request.

With a click, the platform suddenly altered from an X to an O. Just as Papyrus had predicted. I jumped up and down with glee. One down, fourteen to go. Papyrus lightly chuckled at my enthusiasm. Guiding him to the next platform, I motioned for him to take the first step this time. Understanding my intention, he protruded a powerful leg forward and thrust it downward. The force of his single step was worth two of mine and the light glowed red. In awe, i followed him past the square to the next one.

— — —

And so we continued. Papyrus cartwheeled into a plate. I pirouetted across an X. Papyrus tiptoed towards the next mechanism. I pounced at the blue piece of floor. Papyrus performed a triple backflip, landing dead centre between the two lines. I danced a limbo under Papyrus’ arm, making the ground flash red. Papyrus had a passionate discussion with the trap about self-actualisation, reaching a breakthrough and helping it embrace its new life as an O by standing on it. I slammed my fist against the metal thing with all my fury. Papyrus stalked his prey, sneaking up to the unsuspecting shape before moving in mercilessly for the kill. I summoned the forces of nature towards me and a spontaneous white dog descended from the sky to land on the button. Papyrus (though never being previously exposed to the choreography) invented the moonwalk to allow us to progress. Papyrus flexed his bones to form a living cube that I then heaved on top of the pressure plate. I moved one leg in front of the other seductively, cat-walking towards the box and posing with a flick of my hair as it clicked to the correct form.

The final click was followed by a louder snap as spikes lowered. Emerging victorious from the puzzle that had been arranged to look like Papyrus’ marvellous face, we cheered ecstatically. “WE DID IT!!!” I flung myself into Papyrus, who caught me midair and spun me in a circle around him. Laughing our heads off, we fell into the snow and looked at the sky-coloured ceiling of the gigantic cavern. I was so glad I had asked for that hint. What we had just done… it was a bond forged in the fiery trial of puzzles that no force in the history of the world could possibly break. This was an experience that I would share with my grandchildren with fondness. Our relationship had changed forever, we were now _PuzzlePalz_ (the extra z proved how awesome it was).

After a moment, Papyrus stood up sensibly and brushed the powdery snow from his bones. Already, the white slush was melting leaving his armour a glistening spectacle. I was dazed at the eye candy for a second before standing up myself. “WOW! WE SOLVED IT! MY ADVICE HELPED! IT REALLY HELPED YOU!” Of course it did. How could anything the Great Papyrus offer _not_ be one hundred percent perfect for its intended situation?!

“…BUT HUMAN, YOU DO REALISE WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL THIS BY SIMPLY PRESSING THE SWITCH ON THAT TREE RIGHT OVER THERE?” _Huh?_ Turning around I now noticed the large and obvious switch attached to the tree behind us. How could I have not noticed it earlier? I started giggling. He grins at me with teeth as white as his bones. “WELL… I SUPPOSE THIS WAY CERTAINLY WAS MORE ENTERTAINING!!! THEREFORE, I AM STILL IMPRESSED WITH YOUR VALID YET BLATANTLY WRONG WAY OF SOLVING THIS PUZZLE!!!” I blushed. Papyrus always knew just the right things to say to make me happy.

— — —

Sans was waiting for me past the deactivated spikes. “Hey. Why didn’t you ask for help?” He grinned. “I was right here.” Of course he had abandoned us simply to watch us struggle through it. He really was the laziest person I had ever met. There was a look of relief in his eyes behind the laugh. He trusted me again. I was glad he had forgiven me for pretending to be right-handed finally.

— — —

Before me was a fascinating array of trapdoors organised into rows and columns. Trap doors! Ohhh I could spend _hours_ talking about trapdoors. There were so many of them!! The entire rock face was covered in the doors of danger. The surface of the large lever faces were covered in glass protecting LED lights. I realised that my only path past them was across. Moving closer I notice Papyrus and Sans. Ah! Of course this was Papyrus at work once again.

They were engaged in debate. I didn’t even know what they were talking about yet but I knew that Papyrus would be winning. He was always right after all.  
“JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”  
“What? Really dude? That easy-peasy word scramble? That’s for baby bones.”  
“UN. BELIEVABLE. BUT CROSSWORDS ARE SO EASY. IT’S THE SAME SOLUTION EVERY TIME. I JUST FILLL ALL THE BOXES IN WITH THE LETTER “Z”… BECAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A CROSSWORD… ALL I CAN DO IS SNORE!!!”  
I snortle out with laughter at Papyrus’ witty response. He reacted to the sound and realised I had arrived. “HUMAN!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

“Junior Jumble.” I answered faithfully without having to even think about it. A crossword was a worthy foe, true. But where a crossword is limited by a single solution that can be cheated simply by looking on-line, Junior Jumble has unlimited room for creative response, letting one arrange the letters into whatever combination their heart could desire. With such freedom in puzzling expression, the activity allowed one to properly define themselves above the rest with their ingenuity and knowledge of written language.

“HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT! IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH! YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE THEN!” He began an elaborate explanation of the puzzle designed by some ‘Dr. Alphys’. I listened to every word intently, memorising each and every colour’s purpose.

“HOW WAS THAT?! UNDERSTAND???”

“Of course,” I reply with a growing anticipation.

“GREAT!! THEN THERE’S ONE LAST THING…” He reveals that the solution will be entirely randomised. With a flick of that switch, a puzzle combination never seen before would appear before me, complete with man-eating piranhas?  
…How much more amazing could this day get?!

— — —

“NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY…!” The LEDs came to life, swapping between the various colours in a frenzy. _What would it be? What would it be!_ Swapping from arrangement to arrangement, i tried to practise solving the coloured maps in my head. Trapdoors opened and closed sporadically, revealing beneath them pools of water, pits of monsters and various other options. Ohhhh I was so ready for this!

The swapping slowed. It was almost ready! On the other side of the contraption, Sans flinched at the changing colours. It was flattering that he was worried about me, but not necessary. It swaps once more. Then again. Almost… there…!

Everyone gasped. The puzzle was ready. And it was simply a path of harmless pink squares. Papyrus spun in circles. He was too astounded to even comprehend what’s happening any more. I was in a similar state myself. Continuing to spiral, Papyrus spun himself out of the clearing. He needed time to recover from this.

I was  _furious_. Storming across the unchanging pink path, i inspected the machine. I tugged the lever again. Nothing happened. I kicked the system for presenting me such an insulting puzzle. It didn’t react. Screaming, I wrapped my arms around it and shook the hunk of metal. It clattered in resistance, but I would not give up my crusade! Dropping the box, I search behind it. A hatch! Using my bare fingernails, I pry at the screws until they become loose and inspect the wiring. I refused this. I REFUSED to let this be my ultimate puzzle! You would give me another arrangement if it killed me!!!

I used my stick to move around the various wires. Surely this couldn’t be too hard. Wiring was simply another type of puzzle-form if you thought about it! I tracked the various flows of electricity within the system. The red one 32nd from the left was the power source… the green one 13th from the right was linked to the trapdoor to the far left… ah! There it was. Some idiot had let the machine’s link to the random generator be overridden by some wireless source transmitting to the central processing unit. It had been hacked!

I realised with frustration that i had nothing to cut the wire with. Sans moved up behind me. He had been watching me analyse the device. “Do you have something i can cut this with please?” I asked politely. He blinked at me.  
“Why, kid?”  
I stared at him impatiently. “To reset the puzzle of course!” He looked at me, confused for a moment. Then he chuckled and pulled out a pair of wire cutters.  
“…I was going to pull a prank on Lesser Dog.” Sans admitted when I gave him a questioning glance. Sigh. Of course it was for some ridiculous reason like that.

Cutting the wire, the machine whirred into action once more. I stretched my arms and legs to warm up. “Could you pull the lever after I make it to the other side? I think i deserve two runs at this for that flimsy first option, don’t you?” Sans just shrugged, still mildly amused at the turn of events.

The changing lights stopped. Finally! If only Papyrus was here to see this… well, I guess I’d just have to tell him about it later. For now, there was a puzzle to get in solving!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the nice stuff people left on the last chapter ^.^ I'm flattered you think i'm a good writer. And i know this is just a single chapter update, sorry. I would have done more but randomly another one of my works got a lot of attention this week so I wanted to focus a little on that one too :D
> 
> Extras:  
> YES, I went back and found a screenshot of the puzzles and counted how many pressure plates there were just so i could individually describe each one. (Totally worth it lol)
> 
> Don't question Frisk's sudden electrical knowledge... it's puzzle-related, so of course it makes sense! That *totally* justifies an understanding of mechanical, electrical and/or software engineering necessary to identify the hacking done by Alphys (her messing with the puzzle is canon btw. Check her computer at the lab).
> 
> Force of a raging river is totally a Mulan reference. And the dark irony in “laughed our heads off” in reference to Pap... pffftt haha maybe i should've chosen a less sensitive description, but there's no way i'm changing that now.
> 
> Of course junior jumble is harder. I always choose it when i play Undertale because in all seriousness, IT IS HARDER. There’s legitimate difficulty in it! I found this on the internet randomly while looking for inspiration for reference to its difficult-ness (enjoy!)
> 
> https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/questions/23727/can-you-solve-this-devilish-junior-jumble


	8. ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!

Smelling like lemons, I triumphantly left the coloured tile puzzle. I was close to the end of this collection of puzzles… I could _sense_ it.

Before me was another X/O caper. And this time it was _combined_ with the ice trap! Genius! There was no handsomely capable Papyrus to come to my aid this time… The stakes were higher than ever before.

I composed a map of the sequenced platforms in my head and spent a thorough half hour planning my approach. To the edge of the ice was a sheer cliff face that told me that failure was _not_ an option this time.

With a cautious step, my well-worn boots made contact with the slippery surface. There was the usual sudden jerk, and then I felt my body fling itself into suspension towards the platform. This part always made me want to throw up. But I could never reject the beautiful spaghetti that was settling within my stomach! Swallowing my bile, I glided into the trigger. The satisfying click of the pressure plate rewarded me. I was actually starting to get used to this.

Drawing confidence from my dreams of a reunion with Papyrus, I moved forward again.

…Little did i know i had misstepped.

With panic, i was thrust towards the cliff face.

— — —

A thick blanket of snow softened my fall.

I was still alive.

Glancing up, a heavenly figure was gazing stoically down at me. Papyrus? What was he doing here? And… had he always _sparkled_ this much?

Blinking, I realised that this was merely a sculpture of the original - albeit, a highly accurate depiction. I reached out and stroked the hand-carved biceps of Snow Papyrus. So smooth. I had seen enough evidence of his work to know the Great Papyrus’ handmanship when i saw it.

I spend a while simply marvelling at the moment greatness captured within the hunk of ice. Next to it was a pile of snow with the word ‘Sans’ written lazily on it. No prizes guessing who made _that_ complementary piece.

The same familiar path waited next to the scene, ready to guide me back to the puzzle. I happily followed it uphill to the same trial.

This time I was more careful about where I moved.

— — —

“HUMAN!”

I could listen to Papyrus call me Human all day. _Forget my real name, if I ever do make it back to the surface, I’m having it legally changed!_ I decided. (Of course, since this point I have realised that this action would only confuse everyone who meets me. So I have made it my middle name instead)

“THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!”

I beheld its deadly terror. The stone formation beneath me was painted to look as a bridge, creating a mood of drama to the situation. The detail in including ropes to the sides only heightened the effect. Hanging above me were some of the most horrific things i had ever seen. A spiked ball was suspended menacingly. Spears were targeted towards me at predetermined angles that i could tell had taken hours of careful thought. An ominous white dog dangled listlessly on a rope. I had never seen the creature before… but I already knew I hated it. There was something distinctly annoying about that look in its eye…

“WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!!”

Ah. Of course there were hidden other obstacles to this bridge. Papyrus was always thorough.

“CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN!”

The title of the trap was sounding more and more appropriate with each word out of my hero’s mouth.

“ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!!”

He clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes.

“ARE YOU READY!?”

Papyrus ventured a slow and steady breath.

“BECAUSE!”

I was too captivated to interrupt the dramatic tension in his pauses.

“I!”

His jaw unlocked as he built towards the final reveal.

“AM!”

There was a small waver to the syllable.

“ABOUT!”

He shifted in place slightly.

“TO DO IT!”

— — —

The small white dog rotated in place harmlessly.

Papyrus turned away from me in a single graceful movement.

“Well? What’s the holdup?” Sans asked curiously.  
“HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!?” Papyrus barked irritably. He sounded lost in a conflict of thought. “I’M… I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!”

I stood completely stationary as Papyrus faced me once more.

“That, uh, doesn’t look very activated.” Sans quipped.  
“WELL!!!” Papyrus screamed, clearly frustrated. “THIS CHALLENGE!!!” His mouth was twitching with some unwilling emotion. He broke eye contact with Sans. “IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH.”

I should have been offended. He had just suggested that this puzzle would defeat me with ease. But looking at the array of violent contraptions organised within the bridge, I felt myself agreeing. This trap was overkill. There’s no fun in it for either of us if I had so slim a chance of success.

I nodded my head and smiled. Papyrus became determined on the idea.

“YEAH! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL!”

“AWAY IT GOES!”

Sans was shaking his head in amusement. I don’t see what was so funny. Papyrus had just argued a very good reason to deactivate the gauntlet.

He turned away from me. I thought I heard a sigh of… relief? Did he do this… because he was actually concerned about my safety? The idea was bringing a tear to my eye.

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?” Papyrus exclaimed, noticing how I had reacted. “THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!!” I grinned and energetically shook my head up and down. Indeed it was.

“NYEH!!” Was his only response. My smile grew wider.

“HEH!!” He insisted, refusing to acknowledge his act of kindness.

“…” Sans spectated the gazes between us with interest.

“HEH???” He finished. His eyes were the ones of those at war with themselves. I tried to move to reassure him in sympathy, but he used the silence to retreat from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official.   
> Papyrus sparkles. Vampires sparkle.   
> Papyrus is a vampire.   
> Undertale is the next Twilight ;D
> 
> Frisk Human Dreemurr is an awesome name. I'm sure adding Human to the title really helped clear things up for monsters :D 
> 
> I experimented a little more describing the slippery scene than last time. When i played the game, was i the only one who found that if you didn't stand centre on the platforms sometimes you missed your mark entirely? Man was that frustrating haha.
> 
> This scene in the game is the changing point in their relationship i think. It's the first time Papyrus shows conflict towards his goal of capture after having so much fun with the human already...
> 
> Sorry I haven't posted in a bit :( There's not really any reason this time but i am sorry.


	9. SNOWDIN... HOME OF PAPYRUS!

It was such a friendly town. I didn’t know _what_ it was about it, but the word friendly bounced about in my head from the moment I passed the welcoming sign.

I had finally arrived in Snowdin. Home of Papyrus. The sight of buildings with the warm glisten of yellow lights was tempting enough for me tour the entire location.

— — —

My first stop was the shop. The bunny managing the store was very kind. Though I think she thought I was a monster. There was never an opportune time to correct her, so I just went with it.

Next visit was the inn. But who had time for napping at a time like this?! I said hello to the friendly monster and her son before leaving the place.

I avoided the slightly larger building called ‘Grillbys’. Just by smelling the place I could detect an immeasurable amount of grease from the hell-hole. No thank you.

The library (incorrectly named the ‘Librarby’, much to the librarian’s annoyance) was ok. The organisation in colour coding the books was admirable. Not nearly enough puzzle books to keep me satisfied however. I had a pleasant conversation with the lady who wrote the crosswords before leaving.

There was a large Christmas tree in the centre of the strip of buildings. Underneath it was a host of brightly coloured presents. The bear-like monster adjusting a present addressed from Santa (so his reach even extended underground? I’m glad that they jolly season was spread to monster-kind too. Even if in a strange format) He explained how the tree-decorating and gift-sharing customs had been formed to pay respect to the bullied Giftrot. Thinking about the gesture warmed my heart. I needed to remember to get Papyrus a present one of these days… and Sans too i guess (even if he didn’t deserve it).

Next to the tree was a small armless child. Noticing my jumper, he pounced on the opportunity to greet me. “Yo! You’re a kid too, right? I can tell ‘cause you’re wearing a striped shirt.” I decided not to tell him that some human adults also wear striped clothing. No need to make the kid embarrassed.“Man, Undyne’s just the coolest, right?”

— — —

I became stiff. _What did he just say?_ “Ahaha.” I chuckled without a trace of humour. “You must have said ‘Undyne’ by accident when you actually meant ‘ _Papyrus_ ’, right?”

He frowned. “Papyrus? Who’s he? One of those skeletons around town? Nah! I meant Undyne! The greatest monster in all the Underground!”

I clenched my fists and pulled out my sweetest smile. “I have no idea who this _Undyne_ person is, but trust me…” I didn’t know his name.  
“Monster Kid.” He supplied.  
“Monster Kid… _Papyrus_ is the greatest monster underground.”

He gasped. “How can you not know who Undyne is?!”  
“Well, how can you not know how great Papyrus is?!” I defensively snorted back.

“Doesn’t matter who he is. _Undyne_ is the coolest most strong and awesome monster in the history of the world.” He argued.

“No she’s not.” I spat. The time for the nice act was over. I didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

“Yes she is!” He insisted.  
“Papyrus is the best monster in the history of the world!” I informed him.  
“No he’s not!”  
“YES HE IS!”  
“Nu-uh! Undyne is!”  
“Yu-huh! Papyrus is!”  
“Undyne!”  
“Papyrus!”  
“UNDYNE!”  
“PAPYRUS!”  
“ _UNDYNE!!”_  
_“PAPYRUS!!!”_  
“UNDYNE TIMES TEN!”  
“PAPYRUS TIMES A HUNDRED!!!”  
“YEAH?! UNDYNE TIMES A THOUSAND!”  
“PAPYRUS TIMES A BILLION!”  
“UNDYNE TIMES… QUADRILLION!!” He yelled, not certain about numbers that come after a billion.  
“PAPYRUS TIMES INFINITY!!!!!!!!!”

He stopped for a moment. Mwahahaha! I had won. _That’s right! There’s no number bigger than infinity you idiot!_

“Undyne can suplex giant boulders with her bare hands!” He growled.  
“Papyrus can cook spaghetti so great it makes you feel as though you’ve died and went to heaven!” I hissed.  
“Undyne cooks so hard, she sets her house on fire sometimes!”  
“Papyrus is the most amazing puzzler i’ve ever met!”  
“Well… Undyne doesn’t need puzzles! Because she can just beat up bad guys before they even need to face them!”  
“Papyrus is so strong, the very ground shakes when he walks sometimes!”  
“Undyne is so strong, she can summon like, a gazillion spears at once!”  
“Papyrus can do frontflips!”

“Undyne is the captain of the royal guard! How can Papyrus possibly be cooler than that?!” He yelled. Our debate was becoming more and more public.

_So she was who held final decision on whether Papyrus could become a royal guardsman…._

“Once Papyrus captures a human, he will join the royal guard and become the greatest guardsman you’ve ever seen!” I announced.

He laughed at me. “He’s not even in the royal guard?! The loser probably will never join! This Papyrus isn’t _nearly_ as cool as Undyne is.”

“Take that back.” I whisper threateningly. “NOW.”

“No! And you know what! When _Undyne_ meets the final human and beats them up until she shatters their soul, she’s gonna free us all! Then she’ll be the biggest hero ever!!!”  
“Not if Papyrus captures them first!” I insisted, storming inches in front of his face.  
“U-Undyne is totally better than Papyrus!” He jeered. Though, he was becoming slightly nervous as I moved in closer to his throat.

I pressed the limbless creature against the bark of the tree. He struggled under my grip on his neck.

“Papyrus is the greatest, you fool.”  
“Undyne is the coolest, you jerk!”  
“Papyrus is the awesomest, you idiot!”  
“I hate your guts!”  
“I don’t like your shirt!”  
“If Undyne were here right now, she’d spear you to a pulp!”  
“If Papyrus were here right now, he’d bone you to dust!”

“Uhhh, actually. Maybe Undyne wouldn’t kill an innocent bystander…”  
“Yeah… Papyrus is too brilliant to do a violence…”

I waved away the thought. Pressing his head against the tall pine, I gave him one final chance to admit defeat.

“Say that Papyrus is the greatest, and I’ll grant you mercy.”  
“But he’s not!” My eyesight went red with rage. I had to back away a moment to stop myself from strangling him. Papyrus would not condone murder.

“ **Yes. He. Is.** ”

I was breathing through my nostrils. It made loud, frustrated noises. Snowdin had gone quiet. It seemed as though our argument had caused quite a ruckus.

“What’s this about kids?” Sans yawned. I flinched and turned to realise Sans was standing right next to me. We both stopped our quips, embarrassed.

“They started it!” We both moaned at the same time.

“It’s not _my_ fault you’re completely wrong.” I mumbled.  
“ _I_ can’t help it if this kid doesn’t know coolness when they see it.” He replied moodily.

I broke into a sudden run and shoved Monster Kid to the ground.

“PAPYRUS IS BETTER!!!” I screamed.  
“UNDYYYYYNNNEEEEEE!” Was his only response.  
“PAPPPPYYYYYYRRRRRUUUUUUSSSSSSS!” I added just to out-do Monster Kid.

The next thing I know, my body was thrown off Monster Kid and the two of us were hanging by our collars in Sans’ hands. “Now, how bout we play nice?” He says calmly. I struggle in his grip trying to grapple Monster Kid.

“You, uh, do know that Papyrus and Undyne are buddies, right? They train together and everything.” We both went limp. Buddies? I suppose… Papyrus would not appreciate me disgracing his friends. Monster Kid seems to be having a similar thought. Sans notices we’ve stopped fighting and puts us down.

“See? No need to fight.” He winked at me for some reason. Was i missing some inside joke here? Because half the things that came out of that skeleton’s mouth made no sense to me.

— — —

Monster kid sullenly left.

“So what were you arguin over anyways?” Sans drawled.  
“He was saying Papyrus wasn’t cool and… that he’d never join the royal guard.” I sighed.

Sans closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Under the lids, I swore I could see some blue light. His mouth seemed to be tightly closed, holding back some swear words.

“…Sometimes, we just need to be the better person and not retaliate, kid.” He finally let out. The glow disappeared.

With that, he tucked his hands in his jumper and started walking into an alleyway between two buildings. Strange. That place was a dead end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh i loved writing this one. Seriously. Just... that fight between MK and Frisk is so hilarious in my head :D
> 
> Also: Christmas in July! (i'm feeling really notsalgic for jolliness right now) Here's a Pap singing Mariah Carey :3  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oflFgOYyeoU&list=PLJkrnYjngWlkPWt47pKt_am7kaDTUU_2a&index=92
> 
> We're approaching Papyrus' final battle now... I'm so excited!!! I might just keep writing all weekend and see where it takes me. 
> 
> I mean, I still have all those final final chapters saved. This part of events is taking longer than I thought it would... (No regrets though, an entire chapter about MK and Frisk in a battle of fangirling is worth it :D) There's only really 2 more main events I need to type out and then I'll probably stagger the release of the final chapters into 2 stages just to be dramatic haha.


	10. CLEAN UP YOUR LETTER BOX SANS!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no  
> SANS!!!  
> you do it  
> BUT I'M BUSY BEING THE MAIN CHARACTER IN A SUMMARY FOR THIS CHAPTER SANS! I CAN'T!!  
> oh. looks like no one can do it then  
> SANSSS!!!

I walked to the giant house at the Far East of the village. The door was locked and no one answered when I knocked, so I moved to leave when I noticed the two letter boxes… They were labelled Sans and Papyrus. _This was Papyrus’ house?!_

Sans’ box was overflowing with paper - most of them bills from what I could see. Papyrus’ was better organised with not a single slip visible from the outside.

I wanted to check the box. I wanted to check it so badly. I wanted to smell the paper and read the fanmail. I wanted to fill the whole thing to the brim with my _own_ letters. But that would probably be illegal… Ah, screw it.

To my surprise the box was empty.

_How could this be?_ I had expected Papyrus’ mailbox to be _flooded_ with fanmail appreciating his greatness. There was only one explanation… He had already categorised and emptied out his mail for the day! Productive as usual.

I took one final longing glance at his humble abode. Glistening with glowing lights, the two storey building was both intimidating yet welcoming.

_I wonder which one’s Papyrus’ room_? I asked myself briefly. My mind quickly darted to wild ideas of great open spaces filled with unspeakable puzzle treasures.

Picturing his sanctuary made me sigh involuntarily. My breath clouding infront of me, I remembered where I was and pressed forward. There was more to explore after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be posting a few chapters. I can't believe i haven't posted in what? 5 months? That's crazy. And inexcusable really. 
> 
> Tbh i didn't want to post here again until i had the whole thing done, sort of an apology to everyone who read this. But I realised that was just stupid. I'm just going to post everything I HAVE done atleast now. 
> 
> So... lots of chapters are about to come at once I guess.


	11. THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!

As the snow grew thicker around me, I began to huddle myself against my jumper. The light snowfall from the town seemed to become heavier with every step forward i took. My feet made loud crunches, digging _through_ rather than walking on the path.

I stopped and paused. Before me was a wall of constantly flowing pellets of flakes. This wasn’t just a snowstorm. This was a _waterfall_ of snow falling from the sky. This was a blizzard.

My foot moved cautiously forward into the wall of white. I watched as the world around me shrank to a perimeter just inches from my face. Covering my view were intricate patterns, like those of snowflakes. It was gorgeous and yet claustrophobic at the same time.

Pulling back quickly, the scene slowly faded back to normal. I took a deep breath. Going in there… was probably a bad idea. I would have no idea where I was going, I have no way to protect myself from the snow…. I might even die.

…Then again, there was a high chance Papyrus was on the other side of that snow.

I entered the blizzard.

— — —

White. It was all I could see. Everything was snow. The sky, the ground, the air. My face and clothes were covered in the powdery stuff.

Those intricate patterns that seemed to form as the wind spiralled the snow were a brief distraction. Until I realised it was just repeating. The design became dizzying. _Am I just walking in circles?_

Suddenly something began to appear. Something not white - not snow.

A dark figure contrasting the pale backdrop grew more distinct as I moved forward.

I knew that shape. I’d recognise that body anywhere…

Papyrus’ silhouette came into view.

— — —

“HUMAN.” A bold voice began to declare over the howl of the storm. The very forces of nature held no flame to his rich proud tenor.

“ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS.”

I was glued in place. His voice couldn’t be ignored. Papyrus’ speeches demanded absolute attention. _What a man_. I swooned in the back of my mind.

He faced down and began fidgeting with what was probably his gloves. I couldn’t exactly tell with the snowy fog between us.

“FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER.”

I blushed.

“THE ADMIRATION FOR ANOTHER’S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS.”

Puzzle solving? Please. My skills are mere childs-play to your greatness.

“THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL.”

_Oh Papyrus…_

“THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!”

It’s a good thing Papyrus probably couldn’t see my reaction through this snow. His ability to see right through me was startlingly accurate.

“I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON’T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE.”

His speech touched me. This monster, who struggled so hard to find empathy with someone so completely below him. Was still trying to understand me anyway? Remarkable.

“I PITY YOU… LONELY HUMAN…”

I wanted to cry and fall to his feet. Without Papyrus, I would feel alone anywhere.

“WORRY NOT!!! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONER!”

I stifled a gasp. Was he saying what he thought he was saying…?

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL BE YOUR…”

He stopped himself suddenly.

“…”

There was an pregnant silence between us.

“NO…” He whispered softly. Though his voice still carried along the wind.

“NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN’T BE YOUR FRIEND!!! YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT’S PAPYRUS!!!” He argued with himself.

I froze in fear listening to him. How could I have hoped for anything more than capture? How could I have asked Papyrus to sacrifice _so much_ for my sake. Of course things had to be this way.

“THE NEWEST MEMBER…” He uttered decidedly, standing taller. “ _OF THE ROYAL GUARD!_ ”

 

The white world turned black.

 


	12. THE FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK'!

The trumpeting sound of glorious music filled my ears.

*Papyrus blocked the way!

I was flabbergasted. Words could not come to me no matter how hard i tried. Mildly, i checked my idol’s stats. I needed to stall this battle somehow.

PAPYRUS - ATK 20 DEF 20  
*He likes to say:  
“Nyeh heh heh!”

“NYEH HEH HEH!” He chuckled at my curiosity towards his stats.

There was nothing left for me to do but spare him. I could never break those beautiful bones.

“SO YOU WON’T FIGHT… THEN, LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED ‘BLUE ATTACK!’”

Seeing the blue bones rush towards me I started moving to avoid them on impulse. I had completely forgotten about Sans’ warnings. Each bone stung sorely and i felt my HP drop. I felt my soul go heavy and I dropped to the ground. Another bone whizzed towards me and stole a further 2 HP.

“YOU’RE BLUE NOW! THAT’S MY ATTACK!” He cackled.

I was in too much shock to dodge his next array of bones. Continuing to spare him I moved closer and closer to my death until eventually he interrupted the battle.

I was captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then... that was anticlimactic


	13. NYEHFULLY YOURS, PAPYRUS

I woke up in a small yet comfortable room. I could smell the faint stale scent of… dog food? Shifting slowly, I realised I was on the floor of the room, wrapped with care in a short woollen blanket. Beneath me was a cushioned box - too small to fit me normally, but lying prostate like this it was perfect.

I glanced down at my clothes. Expecting them to be soaking wet from all the snow, I was surprised to find them completely dry. Similarly, all my wounds had vanished.

I stretched my arm carefully, checking for any residual pain. … Nothing.

I was tempted to just stay in the box a little longer. It may be tight but it was actually quite cozy. Pulling the fabric to my face, I could detect the faint whiff of pasta ingredients. I smiled and snuggled into the soft scent. It felt like Papyrus (the highest compliment I am capable of bestowing).

Papyrus…

“Papyrus!” I sat up with a start. How could I possibly forget?!

With a mild discomfort I squeezed my way out of the tiny box. I glanced quickly around me for the tall skeleton.

He was nowhere to be seen.

My eyes however locked on a note in the centre of the room. I walked towards it quickly and held the scrap paper to my face.

 

“SORRY, I HAVE TO LOCK YOU IN THE GUEST ROOM UNTIL UNDYNE ARRIVES.”

This _Undyne_ lady again. The one that brat said was somehow (it makes me sick to even say these words) better than Papyrus. I hissed a little but continued. If she could improve Papyrus’ rank then I suppose she had her use.

“FEEL FREE TO MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!!! REFRESHMENTS AND ACCOMODATIONS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED.

-NYEHFULLY YOURS,

PAPYRUS”

 

I glanced at the plastic bowl on the floor. So _that’s_ where that smell had come from. I couldn’t help but feel moved by Papyrus’ gesture though. Even if it was… maybe not exactly the best food to feed a human.

Well, I supposed the only thing I could do was wait then like Papyrus asked. Like I had said before, capture was the only way for Papyrus to get what he wants in life. What right do I have to take that away from him?

I sighed. No. That wasn’t the _only_ reason. The truth was, if I could never confess my feelings to Papyrus, what was even the point of progressing? At least capture serves a noble purpose. Continuing forward in denial about my admiration was simply futile.

Turning, I noticed a small dog toy in another corner of the room. I walked towards it and gave it a gentle squeeze. It made a happy little honk in response. I smiled and carried it and Papyrus’ letter with me to the bed.

Dangling my legs over the side of the bed/box, I traced the jagged lines of his words with my index finger. Papyrus had touched this paper before me. The Great Papyrus had bestowed his words onto this treasure.

“Nyehfully yours…” I whispered to myself. What an intimate sign off.

Closing my eyes, I spent my time fantasising about Papyrus while he found the Captain of the Guard to determine my fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read uh, my other fic i should let readers know i'm going through some issues with my mental health so i'm on *indefinite hiatus*. 
> 
> I most definitely want to finish things i have started. Puzzle of the Heart and Broken Halves of a Whole are still on the to-do-list but chapter updates will be entirely dependent on if i can somehow manage to have more than one or two good days in a row and enough self confidence to be satisfied with what i write. 
> 
> Sorry it's been such a long time and thankyou everyone nice person who leave kudos on my work. it's always a nice little feeling when i get that notification :D
> 
> Hm, what can you expect from the next chapter? In no particular order: a prison break, monologues, flirting practice and Sans giving Frisk The Talk. It's gonna be a big one and hopefully should help this thing pick up the pace! If i can get through the next two or so chapters i have some drafts stored up for some real drama.


End file.
